DREDD 3D

To be completely forthcoming, I really liked the Stallone Judge Dredd. I did. I'll admit it. I didn't mind the "I am the law"s or Rob Schneider, even as annoying as he was. Because I like comic book movies, even if they are horrible. What can I say?

DREDD on the other hand, was not a horrible comic book movie. DREDD was a Karl Urban kick your face off and you say thank you sort of movie. I loved it, even in 3D, which i normally attempt to avoid at all costs.  

DREDD sticks to the story you know . It's the future and society is run by all sorts of bad folks. The good people hide and struggle while the gangs and criminals run the streets. Enter the Judges - the new police force who are enforcer, judge, jury, and executioner all in one. They have the ability to enforce the law and pass down a sentence in the streets, removing the need for a lengthy trial and jury process. (Gotta love cost saving measures that take away civil liberties, yo.) Karl Urban is Judge Dredd, who is sent out for the day with a rookie Judge, Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirby). It's her field test, and one mistake can cost her her badge and her future as a judge. As these things go, the two Judges are called to Peachtree tower to investigate a murder, only to stumble upon something even bigger - Ma-Ma (Lena Headley) , her ruthless gang of miscreants, and the center of the trade of a new, very popular drug called Slo-Mo. When Ma-Ma decides it would be easier to just kill the two of them than deal with the possibility of arrest, she locks down the tower, trapping the Judges in with innocent people and her gang members, who will stop at nothing to keep them from leaving the building alive, no matter what it takes.

What I liked:

• Karl Urban played Dredd without campiness, and we know how easy that part can spiral in to camp. 
• Lena Headley as Ma-Ma. Of course I could watch her read a phone book and I would be happy, but she was ruthless and ugly and cold - so much of what I don't associate with her. It was a nice change. 
• The setting: Locking them in to this tower made the action and plot more tense and concise. It kept the audience from having to take in too much of the outside world. You could concentrate on the fact that this building exists rather than having to deal with a whole futuristic world. It really ratcheted up the tension and action. 

What was meh:

• Almost too many Slo-Mo scenes. It was cool seeing everything bright and glittery like they did, especially during an explosion scene. They played really nicely in 3D, but I saw one more I would have been bored. 
•  Olivia Thirby - I haven't seen her before really, so I don't have anything to really compare her to. She was a little blank at first, but warmed up in the end. She's really borderline to me. I could see other people playing the part, but not any one in particular. It's just that sort of part I guess. 

I'm glad we saw it in 3D, and I'm glad we caught it in the theater instead of waiting to watch it at home. I'm kind of a gotta see action on the big screen sort of gal, and this one was well worth it, instead of say, the Total Recall remake. This one was much, much better than that.

Rating: 4 1/2 Purrrs. Ma-Ma is not the law. I am the law.